Canine Instincts
by cursetheflame
Summary: [Inuyasha x Kagome] She knew that the two of them were very different. He was a hanyou, she was human. He was from the past, she the future. But it wasn't until that exact moment that Kagome finally realized just how different she was from Inuyasha.


**Title:** Canine Instincts

**Summary:** ONE SHOT; She knew that the two of them were very different. He was half-demon, she was human. He was from the past, she the future. However, it wasn't until that very moment that Kagome finally realized just how different she was from Inuyasha.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of the Inu-tachi; that honor belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. I can pretend, though, right?

**Theme:** This is a one-shot written for the iyfic contest community at livejournal; the theme was "the other side".

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It really was quite difficult for her to study for her math test when he was peering over her shoulder every few minutes.

"Kagome?" He was on the right side of her, standing no more than a few inches away. Under normal circumstances his proximity would make her flustered enough to forget everything around her but, instead, she was simply growing annoyed. Taking a deep breath, and annoying the hanyou, she willed herself to keep her eyes focused on the textbook in front of her.

"Kagome?" He sprung to the other side of her, curiously looking to see what was keeping her attention. It was only one of her silly books.

He took a step back from her and scowled. He had watched her study her books before – why did she need to look at the strange characters now?

Besides, she had promised him a surprise if he allowed her to return to her time for the afternoon. His first instinct had been to decline; she had no reason to waste the afternoon in her own era when she could be searching for more jewel shards alongside him. However, Sango had returned to her old village the night before, and he realized it would be useless, setting off without the taijiya.

That, and the look on Shippo's face when he heard Kagome's offer, allowed him to acquiesce to her request. Normally she only resorted to bribery when it came to the little kitsune, bringing him chocolate in exchange for his good behavior. The kit had become so jealous when Kagome said she would give Inuyasha a surprise that the half-demon could not refuse.

However, he allowed Kagome to return home on one condition: he had to come along, too.

Now, though, he was wishing he had stayed behind with Shippo and the monk. Upon arriving in her time, Kagome had headed straight for her room; since none of her family had been expecting her arrival, they were not home to greet the pair, nor entertain the hanyou while Kagome did her schoolwork. He briefly thought of finding the fat cat to torment before his thoughts landed back on the human girl ignoring him.

With a tiny smirk that revealed his fangs, Inuyasha wondered if Kagome had known her family wouldn't be home. Could that have been the surprise? As it was, the pair never had any alone time.

The smirk faded as a faint blush colored his face. He must have been more bored than he had previously thought if he was allowing such strange thoughts to entertain him. Pushing the idea out of his head, he focused instead on what he had been trying to tell Kagome. Quickly, Inuyasha leaped back to her side. "Kagome?" he whined, "I'm…"

At the most recent disruption Kagome finally snapped. Whirling around in her chair, fire in her eyes, she yelled at him. "Inuyasha, sit!"

_Thud._

Inuyasha fell straight down onto her carpet, scowling the moment he made contact. Granted, the carpet was must softer than the Earth he normally landed on, but what did she do that for?

Kagome stood from her seat, hands on her hip, as she loomed over the hanyou. "Inuyasha, I need to study for my test. I can't do that with you peeking over my shoulder and calling my name every two seconds. As soon as I'm done with this, I'll let you know," she barked, frustrated and wishing she had just snuck off that morning without him.

Inuyasha, from his spot on the floor, marveled up at the girl. He was the one that was half inu-youkai – yet he could almost swear that she was growling at him. Since the enchantment still held and he was stuck to the floor, he allowed himself a quick smirk, aware from her glowering gaze. _She's becoming more like me than I would have thought._

As soon as the spell allowed it, he rose to his feet, but not before he wiped his face of any expression. "Feh," he snorted, surprising the girl by not arguing back. He stuck his arms inside the sleeves of his haori and glared at her until she sat back in her seat and went back to her studies.

He stared at her back, now thinking about what she had said after subduing him – something about "need". But what about his "needs"? His "wants"?

But, what did he really need? Want? He thought about it for a moment before he realized what it was that he was craving at that instance. Maybe because he had been bored all afternoon. Maybe because he had spent the afternoon alone with Kagome. Maybe because the sight of her asserting her dominance just then had caused him to pant slightly in excitement. Whatever it was, Inuyasha realized that he was thirsting.

Adopting a more submissive tone, hoping it would earn him what his body craved, Inuyasha approached her desk. "Kago—"

She spun back around, prepared to subdue him a second time should he finish that last syllable.

His ears drooped at her reaction to him before he turned his back on her and stalked out of the room. What had he been thinking? He didn't need to submit himself to his bitch – he was the dominant one in their relationship.

He continued stalking down the hallway of the Higurashi home until he found what Souta had once told him was a "bathroom". A "bathroom", the boy had explained, was a private place in the home where people liked to bathe in a "tub" and relieve themselves in a "toilet". He had not comprehended any of the foreign terms then – his attention had been on the strange handle that poured heated water out of a spout.

At the time, he had been impressed at the idea of a personal hot spring inside the walls of Kagome's home; he had always wondered why the girl was so possessive of her bathing habits, but it made sense if she was used to doing it in her own bathing pool.

As he entered the bathroom, remembering what the small room held apart from the private hot spring, he smirked. He didn't need Kagome at all.

Kagome, still at her desk, heard his angry footsteps as they marched away from her room. She tried to return her focus to her math book, but pangs of guilt at her attitude towards Inuyasha compelled her to abandon her studies and apologize to the hanyou.

She shoved her seat away from the desk and got to her feet. She shuffled out of her room and paused when she heard something coming from the open bathroom down the hall.

Straining her human ears, Kagome listened. It sounded almost as if something was dripping into the toilet.

She blushed furiously, questioning whether or not she should approach the room. Her own curiosity got the best of her – she tiptoed on ahead.

Kagome took a brief pause when she reached at the end of the hall. _Come on, girl. You know you want to see,_ she thought to herself before taking a deep breath and peeking inside the bathroom.

When her eyes took in what was occurring on the other side of the doorway, she had to stifle her giggles with her hand. The hanyou, too engulfed in his own activity, just ignored her.

But she could not turn away. It was at that very moment that Kagome realized just how different she was from Inuyasha. She, at least, would have grabbed a glass and filled it up in the sink if she was _that_ thirsty.


End file.
